Port Austin man sent to prison for causing wife's drug death

Bradley Massman, Tribune Staff Writer

Published 7:00 am, Tuesday, January 10, 2017

BAD AXE — The case against a Port Austin man, who provided a deadly drug that killed his wife, came to a close this week as he was hauled away for a minimum sentence of nearly eight years in the state’s prison system.

Brandon S. Lopez entered Huron County Circuit Judge Gerald M. Prill’s courtroom — donned in orange and shackled in chains — on Monday to be sentenced for the death of his wife, Carol Lopez, roughly two years ago.

A Huron County Sheriff’s Office deputy found Carol unresponsive on or about March 9 or 10, 2015. Authorities searched the Caseville home she was found in and seized substances later revealed as cocaine and fentanyl. According to previous testimony, Lopez “cooked” up what he thought was heroin, loaded the syringe and gave it to his wife. The heroin, however, ended up being fentanyl, a synthentic painkiller the Drug Enforcement Agency says is 100 times more powerful than morphine and up to 50 times that of heroin.

Following an autopsy, fentanyl was found in her blood and Lopez was arrested last March.

The 34-year-old took a plea bargain in September and as a result pleaded no contest to delivery of a controlled substance causing death, and the remaining drug-related charges were dismissed.

At sentencing, Walt Salens, Lopez’s attorney, expressed to the court the remorse his client has shown since he took the case.

“Every time I visited with Mr. Lopez at the jail, he’s told me he wishes it was him instead of her,” Salens said, adding the incident was very unfortunate for all parties involved.

Salens told Prill that Lopez loved his wife and their children and tried to support them whenever possible.

At the age of 17, Lopez began receiving psychological treatment, Salens said, and he can now function in life without the substances because of treatment.

“He has done whatever is necessary to straighten his life out,” Salens said.

As his attorney finished his final statements, Lopez pulled out a handwritten note from his chest pocket.

“I am truly scared for my life and my children’s lives,” Lopez read. “… I lost my best friend. I lost my family.”

Lopez told the court numerous times how sorry he was for everything that happened.

“I truly hate that she’s gone,” he said as family members wiped tears away. “I hate it. Friends I’ve once had have turned their backs on me.”

“People have told me it should’ve been me (who died),” he added. “I’m with them. I wish it would’ve been me.”

Lopez described his wife as someone who brought him happiness and could make all of his existing problems disappear.

“I’m at peace right now with God,” Lopez concluded. “I ask for forgiveness. I am sorry. I truly am sorry.”

Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski then called a family member of the victim to give an impact statement. The family member highlighted many characteristics that made Carol a memorable person as he read from a prepared letter.

“Carol was a smart, funny and happy energetic woman,” he said while holding back tears.

The relative reflected on Carol’s life and the type of mother she was to her children.

“This crime has ripped my family to shreds,” he said. “I lost my only best friend and partner growing up. … The world lost a bright, shiny light.”

Following the relative’s statements, Rutkowski said any amount over four and a half micrograms of fentanyl can be fatal and the autopsy revealed Carol had 19 micrograms in her blood at the time of her death.

“The reason Carol Lopez died right away is because she wasn’t a regular user of this (fentanyl) controlled substance,” Rutkowski said, noting Lopez claimed he and his wife took the same amount that night.

The prosecutor said there are current charges pending against Lopez for allegedly beating up an inmate while incarcerated in the Huron County Jail.

“He has a mean spirit in him,” Rutkowski said.

As Prill reviewed what he called “an extremely difficult case,” he referred to a similar case from a few years ago. In 2015, Prill sentenced an Elkton woman to four years and eight months in prison for an identical charge Lopez pleaded to.

The woman was convicted by a jury of fatally injecting her boyfriend with heroin and remains locked up in the Michigan prison system.

“What we cannot lose sight of here is Carol — period,” Prill said. “… Her life was cut short because of that poison. … You provided it. She injected it. She’s gone.”

Prill noted when he sentenced the Elkton woman, she was sentenced at the lower end of the guidelines because of her criminal history — which was nonexistent at the time.

“Mr. Lopez, you are going to live with your spouse’s death,” Prill said. “… You will live with this for the rest of your life.”

Lopez was sentenced to seven and a half years — 25 years maximum — in the Michigan prison system with credit for 294 days served.